Russian domestic items vs western

Which civilian domestic items that are Russian made would you say are better than western counterparts? (No firearms)

that would be hard for us to test out, seeing as how Russian products are non existent in the west or west of Russia.

I guess I can say some brand of tractors and what not, especially since Russia owns our major tractor plant here in Winnipeg Manitoba.

But if you are asking about their fridges, stoves, furnaces, elevators and what not, you wont get an answer.

Well it is funny you ask, because I had a quick look at all the products I own and none of them are made in the UK or US... the vast majority are actually Chinese or South Korean.... so fail Russia, but hardly a win for the west.

My latest appliance is a Fisher and Paykel washing machine, which is a New Zealand company, but TV is Samsung, Car is Toyota, Oven is also Fisher and Paykel, Fridge is Samsung too.

My vehicles are partially Canadian made, but mostly US/Italian/Chinese/Japanese/etc components.

My fridge, oven, microwave are Whirlpool. Made in China.

My TV's are LG, so made in Korea

My speakers are Vizio - made in China

My clothing are made in Bangladesh, China and India.

My shoes are made in Bangladesh

My computer parts are made in China, excluding my ram which use Samsung chips which are South Korea.

My petrol is in question if it is made in Canada or US.

I've only seen Russian made civil average consumer parts on online. Never in a store. But of course, it could also be like most western stuff and be mostly made from Chinese/South Korean/Malaysian/Taiwan parts.

It really is a handful of countries that dominate this area of goods. Only thing I have ever seen and bought that was russian made was a small water heater  (like a handheld kettle element) and that was bought at the small tourist shop at chernobyl Ukraine back in 2009 lol. I've since seen the same item alongside chinese version here in Uganda as well as in kenya.

another interesting subject/question could be:

in which countries Russian domestic items/services are exported more?

Looking past just domestic items and onto brands in general:-
I think with globalism, pre-eminence tends to be very concentrated.
For instance:-
consumer electronics - Japan and S Korea. Soon China will join.
web stuff and computer hardware - USA with some of Asia.
fashion and design - Italy and France.
quality mass market cars - Japan and S Korea.
engineering and premium cars - Germany.
call centres and software teams (cheap) - India.
cheap manufacturing - China etc

Then you have the exceptions eg Phillips Electronics, Embraer, Volvo, Nokia etc.

I'm sure Russia could succeed in most sectors. But why bother if its easier to flourish in other areas.
Russia is pre-eminent not so much in comsumer stuff. Its more military, resources, nuclear power, good organic foodstuffs.
It also has some fantastic brands like Kamaz, Kalashnikov and Kaspersky and alcohols. Yotaphone shows they could do it in IT.
St Petersburg is a gigantic "cultural brand". Perhaps Sochi etc can do the same for leisure in time?

Aurus cars will be terrific. As will UAC planes.

With a substantial "upper middle class" I think within 20 yrs there will be many "household brands" worldwide of Russian origin. Russian interior designers are world renowned for instance. Because they rub shoulders with people who throw masses of money at projects. Its like the saying "necessity is the mother of invention". By extension, places become "hotbeds" of certain skills, which cause pre-eminence.  Skolkovo and transfer of military tech to civillian projects may see an explosion in tech brands from RUssia.

I'd like to see how Russia can spawn "talent clusters". Ofcourse there is the oligarch set who could develop design and high end cultural stuff. Also extractive industries tend to develop engineering. This can lead onto tech design - as has happened with Germany. Perhaps Russia's work in the silk road, the Northern sea route and the rail line to India, may mean Russia can become a prime trading/retrading nation. This tends to develop financial skills eg London, NYC, Hon Kong, Singapore going from a port to a banking capital.

The point is that there are so many barriers to Russian products in the west, Russian products may never become popular, but that does not matter.

Russia can trade with the rest of the world... and they can trade fairly, which will boost Russian companies but will also boost companies in those countries they trade with... both can grow and make money and as they grow new markets will be created for consumer goods... but those growing countries wont be able to afford western prices so they will likely consider Russian products instead... especially as their view of Russia will not be coloured by irrational hate.

If trade and cooperation with Russia can drag the third world up into the second or even first world then these countries and Russia will benefit.

Of course the west will fight that... but lets face it... China has already started cooperation with third world countries, spending money on infrastructure and local development... if Russia does the same and eventually India does so too and all three support each other in making the world a better place without screwing everyone then things can improve.

It is not about charity...

The focus of a company should not be money and profit... it should be to its customers... to its workers... and to the community it operates within.

The western model has sheep and wolves... a better model will be Sheep and Sheepdogs.

You need workers to make the product, and you need someone in charge to direct and support... here in New Zealand the guy in charge of Burger King made 700 million dollars in personal income... I know because they had a news item where New Zealand Burger King was being prosecuted because one of their managers ended up working too many hours overtime which meant he ended up getting paid less than minimum wage (something like $16 an hour).

How long can such a business model continue?

Why would anyone want such a business model?

It is a pyramid scheme... but a legal one.

What Russia needs to compete the main players like Apple ,Samsung and Huawei in the global market ?

ahmedfire wrote:
What Russia needs to compete the main players like Apple ,Samsung and Huawei in the global market ?

Protectionist policies for its domestic market. No foreign brands should be allowed. Only Yota phone and similar.
BTW, various retards bitched that Yota phone was being made in China so is not Russian product. Well, what does
that make the iPhone then?

kvs wrote:

ahmedfire wrote:
What Russia needs to compete the main players like Apple ,Samsung and Huawei in the global market ?

Protectionist policies for its domestic market.   No foreign brands should be allowed.   Only Yota phone and similar.
BTW, various retards bitched that Yota phone was being made in China so is not Russian product.  Well, what does
that make the iPhone then?

Actually, from my understanding they were sold to a Chinese company. Besides I rather they have a phone made from a state-controlled concern like Rostec, using a Russian made OS so they cut down on data-mining and wide invasive measures on privacy conducted by foreign entities. Forget what we were told our entire lives, private companies conduct and engage in far more spying than their governmental counterparts.

Russia should have variety but can use its internal laws to ensure monopolies are not exacerbated...

For instance if you buy an Apple product you generally can only use Apple components and software, and other products are similar in the form of Windows PCs trying to force you to use certain products like Outlook for Email or the new MS equivalent.

New Russian laws demanding the consumer can choose what software to use for different jobs is a huge step forward.

I have an old Samsung phone with dozens of Apps that no longer work but still get updates. They are things I have never used but it wont let me remove them because it claims they are parts of other Apps that it needs... pain in the ass.

When I buy a phone I expect to be able to choose the apps which I like and I shouldn't be forced to use store apps I don't want and don't need... bloatware...

I can't make Samsung listen to me but the Russian government can make them and other big companies listen...

Rules on local content and software are good too.

In Q4 2018, Huawei overtook Samsung as Russia's top selling smartphone brand. Huawei's volumes grew 91% year-on-year .

I guess more cooperation with the Chineese will expand the Russian market in the global market .

ahmedfire wrote:In Q4 2018, Huawei overtook Samsung as Russia's top selling smartphone brand. Huawei's volumes grew 91% year-on-year .

I guess more cooperation with the Chineese will expand the Russian market in the global market .

Chinese will never let Russians in.. They are winning with their cheap yet quite decent phones.

miketheterrible wrote:that would be hard for us to test out, seeing as how Russian products are non existent in the west or west of Russia.

I guess I can say some brand of tractors and what not, especially since Russia owns our major tractor plant here in Winnipeg Manitoba.

But if you are asking about their fridges, stoves, furnaces, elevators and what not, you wont get an answer.

Lol, man, you're SO wrong

I have a washing machine brand ATLANT (Belarus, part of the Union state of Russia and Belarus). 5 years in operation and no problems. I wash my clothes 2-3 times a week.

My Indesit refrigerator is assembled in Russia.
Can you specify a hundred for the Stinol plant (the name is an acronym for СТаль Из НОвоЛипецка "Steel from Novolipetsk")

Sergo Ordzhonikidze production Association aka POZIS - It is still a very popular brand in the market of refrigeration and freezing equipment.
A huge pile of household appliances are produced in Russian factories, but often they have Western labels or westernized branding.


As for other household appliances, just look at the list of Russian manufacturers of consumer goods, you can select them by product type:https://fabricators.ru/sitemap/produkt

Scorpius wrote:

miketheterrible wrote:that would be hard for us to test out, seeing as how Russian products are non existent in the west or west of Russia.

I guess I can say some brand of tractors and what not, especially since Russia owns our major tractor plant here in Winnipeg Manitoba.

But if you are asking about their fridges, stoves, furnaces, elevators and what not, you wont get an answer.

Lol, man, you're SO wrong

I have a washing machine brand ATLANT (Belarus, part of the Union state of Russia and Belarus). 5 years in operation and no problems. I wash my clothes 2-3 times a week.

My Indesit refrigerator is assembled in Russia.
Can you specify a hundred for the Stinol plant (the name is an acronym for СТаль Из НОвоЛипецка "Steel from Novolipetsk")

Sergo Ordzhonikidze production Association aka POZIS - It is still a very popular brand in the market of refrigeration and freezing equipment.
A huge pile of household appliances are produced in Russian factories, but often they have Western labels or westernized branding.


As for other household appliances, just look at the list of Russian manufacturers of consumer goods, you can select them by product type:https://fabricators.ru/sitemap/produkt

Where are you located?

I am aware they manufacture this stuff. I post about it all the time. I think you are misreading what you are quoting.

What I am saying is, outside of certain areas, particularly if you go west, you will not find much of Russias made products. Mostly due to pressure of the west to try and stifle competition.

That is what I meant.

miketheterrible wrote:

Scorpius wrote:

miketheterrible wrote:that would be hard for us to test out, seeing as how Russian products are non existent in the west or west of Russia.

I guess I can say some brand of tractors and what not, especially since Russia owns our major tractor plant here in Winnipeg Manitoba.

But if you are asking about their fridges, stoves, furnaces, elevators and what not, you wont get an answer.

Lol, man, you're SO wrong

I have a washing machine brand ATLANT (Belarus, part of the Union state of Russia and Belarus). 5 years in operation and no problems. I wash my clothes 2-3 times a week.

My Indesit refrigerator is assembled in Russia.
Can you specify a hundred for the Stinol plant (the name is an acronym for СТаль Из НОвоЛипецка "Steel from Novolipetsk")

Sergo Ordzhonikidze production Association aka POZIS - It is still a very popular brand in the market of refrigeration and freezing equipment.
A huge pile of household appliances are produced in Russian factories, but often they have Western labels or westernized branding.


As for other household appliances, just look at the list of Russian manufacturers of consumer goods, you can select them by product type:https://fabricators.ru/sitemap/produkt

Where are you located?

Moscow region. I am saying that it is difficult to find a more" Western " region of Russia than Moscow and the Moscow region )

Scorpius wrote:

miketheterrible wrote:

Scorpius wrote:

miketheterrible wrote:that would be hard for us to test out, seeing as how Russian products are non existent in the west or west of Russia.

I guess I can say some brand of tractors and what not, especially since Russia owns our major tractor plant here in Winnipeg Manitoba.

But if you are asking about their fridges, stoves, furnaces, elevators and what not, you wont get an answer.

Lol, man, you're SO wrong

I have a washing machine brand ATLANT (Belarus, part of the Union state of Russia and Belarus). 5 years in operation and no problems. I wash my clothes 2-3 times a week.

My Indesit refrigerator is assembled in Russia.
Can you specify a hundred for the Stinol plant (the name is an acronym for СТаль Из НОвоЛипецка "Steel from Novolipetsk")

Sergo Ordzhonikidze production Association aka POZIS - It is still a very popular brand in the market of refrigeration and freezing equipment.
A huge pile of household appliances are produced in Russian factories, but often they have Western labels or westernized branding.


As for other household appliances, just look at the list of Russian manufacturers of consumer goods, you can select them by product type:https://fabricators.ru/sitemap/produkt

Where are you located?

Moscow region.

That is the reason. In Russia, you are lucky that you can buy your own made products. Fridges, dishwashers, washer and dryer, microwaves and such. Out in Canada though, we do not see these Russian products.

Instead, all we get is cheap chinese shit that mostly lasts maybe a couple years tops, Japanese branded items that are made in the same Chinese plants or German which is overpriced and not much better.

But we do not get Russian made consumer grade goods because of sanctions and just forced market manipulation by our southern retards and Ottawa nonsense.

Not only does NATzO not live up to the economics ideology it espouses, it is trying to prevent Russia from developing markets
in countries that have nothing to do with NATzO. NATzO is an aggressive imperialist outfit with dreams or ruling the world.
Yes, literally ruling the world, that is not hyperbole.

miketheterrible wrote:

Scorpius wrote:

miketheterrible wrote:

Scorpius wrote:

miketheterrible wrote:that would be hard for us to test out, seeing as how Russian products are non existent in the west or west of Russia.

I guess I can say some brand of tractors and what not, especially since Russia owns our major tractor plant here in Winnipeg Manitoba.

But if you are asking about their fridges, stoves, furnaces, elevators and what not, you wont get an answer.

Lol, man, you're SO wrong

I have a washing machine brand ATLANT (Belarus, part of the Union state of Russia and Belarus). 5 years in operation and no problems. I wash my clothes 2-3 times a week.

My Indesit refrigerator is assembled in Russia.
Can you specify a hundred for the Stinol plant (the name is an acronym for СТаль Из НОвоЛипецка "Steel from Novolipetsk")

Sergo Ordzhonikidze production Association aka POZIS - It is still a very popular brand in the market of refrigeration and freezing equipment.
A huge pile of household appliances are produced in Russian factories, but often they have Western labels or westernized branding.


As for other household appliances, just look at the list of Russian manufacturers of consumer goods, you can select them by product type:https://fabricators.ru/sitemap/produkt

Where are you located?

Moscow region.

That is the reason.  In Russia, you are lucky that you can buy your own made products.  Fridges, dishwashers, washer and dryer, microwaves and such.  Out in Canada though, we do not see these Russian products.

Instead, all we get is cheap chinese shit that mostly lasts maybe a couple years tops, Japanese branded items that are made in the same Chinese plants or German which is overpriced and not much better.

But we do not get Russian made consumer grade goods because of sanctions and just forced market manipulation by our southern retards and Ottawa nonsense.

Actually the vast majority of German consumer goods (e.g. Bosch washing machines) are made in Poland (if I am not mistaken even the Korean Samsung assembles in Poland house appliances sold in Germany.

If you want a real high quality German product you should buy Miele (and there at least the high quality products are made in Germany). They are better (and last longer) than Samsung or Bosch, but they cost also considerably more.

In Italy we have Indesit, that apparently sells well also in UK and in Russia, but unfortunately a few years ago the controlling stake of the company was bought by the american Whirlpool. It is sad that in the recent past every major italian firm is being sold abroad

Whirpool is crap. American outfits are corrupting the world with their "business standards". Germany has managed to hold of
yanqui attempts to take over its beer makers because it applies an ancient purity law that Budweiser et al. cannot tolerate.
Americans would buy out and turn German beers into chemical laden pisswater if given a chance.

The US company Mondelez or something bought out Cadburys a while back... they had a Cadburys factory here in Dunedin and it was doing well, making a profit... it is cheaper to run than their factories in Australia that need to be fully air conditioned to keep the chocolate solid.

The American company however decided they weren't making enough profit so they closed our factory... note it was not making a loss... they just wanted to close it and make even more money by transferring the work somewhere else...

I have since stopped buying Cadbury products... we have a chocolate making company in New Zealand called Whittakers, which I used to buy a little of because it was a Kiwi company, but now I only buy Whittakers... screw Cadburys...

Would certainly be interested in buying Russian brand products... including firearms... but also other items.... it would just be different and interesting.

This is what is called "economic optimization" in the new world order of monetarist BS.   Wall Street punishes companies for not
making enough profit.   So the stock racketeers (not really the small time participants but the large ones who manipulate them)
exert pressure on companies to change their business model to focus on raking in profits.   I guess all the yapping about
"free markets" is a vapid as the yapping about "freedom and democracy".   The definition of free market is the limit of a
large number of producers making marginal or nearly zero profit.   Wall Street and the US business culture clearly believes
in oligopolies and monopolies.   That is consistent with it being an oligarchic kleptocracy.

Degree of quality: Russians are switching to wine and champagne
Sales of this alcohol increased, while vodka and brandy decreased slightly.
Evgeniya Pertseva
Mary Badunts
28 December 2020, 00:01

Russians are switching to the consumption of noble alcoholic beverages - wine and champagne. According to the results of the three quarters, their sales increased by 4-5%, according to the data of the Federal Agency for Alcohol Market Regulation, which Izvestia got acquainted with. Sales of spirits, rum, gin, whiskey and beer increased by 5-15% compared to the same period in 2019. At the same time, sales of vodka practically did not change, while sales of cognac decreased slightly. The change in the focus in the choice of alcohol was influenced by the active promotion of the products of the domestic wine industry, experts say.

The truth is in wine

Izvestia got acquainted with the official statistics of Rosalkogolregulirovanie (RAR) for the most popular categories of alcohol. It follows from it that the Russians began to switch to weaker alcoholic beverages. According to RAP, at the end of three quarters of 2020 compared to the same period in 2019, sales of champagne increased by 5%, to 10.8 million decaliters, wine - by 4%, to 41.2 million decaliters. The same trend was recorded in the beer category: its sales increased by 5%, to 514.9 million decaliters.

Vodka sales did not change and amounted to 54.3 million decaliters, while the demand for cognac fell by 1% to 8.3 million decaliters. Thus, in general, sales of alcoholic beverages over the three quarters did not change in relation to the same period last year and amounted to 158 million decaliters.

Shifting the focus from strong to weak alcohol is one of the points of state policy in the field of reducing excessive consumption of alcohol, President of the Union of Winegrowers and Winemakers Leonid Popovich told Izvestia. The new sales trend confirms that efforts have begun to pay off.

In recent years, producers and the state have tried to promote Russian drinks, including organizing various actions in retail chains, for example, "Days of Russian Wines". Moreover, Roskachestvo was actively engaged in the research of drinks. Therefore, people have more opportunities to get acquainted with Russian wine, this spurred sales, - Leonid Popovich is sure.

The growth in demand is due to the increased interest of citizens in wine, including domestic wine, he believes. The first law on viticulture and winemaking in the history of Russia was also aimed at reviving the domestic industry. It, as Izvestia wrote , was signed by President Vladimir Putin at the end of 2019. One of the main goals of the document is to improve the quality of the domestic drink. This is also due to the fact that now producers cannot call wine a drink made from "bulk" - a foreign wine material of low quality.

Russian companies today also pay great attention to the export of their products, which is usually liked by consumers. For example, on December 25 it became known that the Crimean "Massandra" resumes export supplies to Taiwan. 9 thousand bottles of fortified and dessert wine will be sent to this country, the acting Acting told Izvestia. CEO of "Massandra" Sergei Bannov.

- This year we produced and shipped 19.7 million bottles, while sold 19.1 million. This is a good result for our company, given that due to the pandemic, many market segments were closed: restaurants, bars, cafes, - he said. - In terms of exports, we will make an increase of 10-15%. This is commendable, because due to the coronavirus, many countries closed their borders and companies could not supply their products.

Gin tinctures
According to Rosalkogolregulirovanie, sales of alcoholic beverages with a strength above 25 degrees (for example, tinctures) also increased by 15%, up to 5.6 million decaliters, alcoholic beverages stronger than nine degrees (rum, whiskey, gin) - by 11%, up to 5.8 million decaliters.

These categories have been growing for several years, Igor Kosarev, President of the Union of Alcohol Producers, told Izvestia. Pandemic, stress and human fear have played a role in some of the overall rise in alcohol consumption, he suggested.

Legal alcohol sales this year have not changed compared to last year, as well as alcohol consumption per capita, Vadim Drobiz, head of the Center for Research on Federal and Regional Alcohol Markets, told Izvestia. And this despite the fact that there are factors that contribute to the use of alcoholic beverages: a pandemic, a crisis, a canceled vacation. At least 20 million people who traveled abroad twice a year stayed at home this year, the expert said.

- It is due to these citizens that we see an increase in sales in the category of alcoholic beverages, alcoholic drinks stronger than nine degrees, as well as wine and champagne, - Vadim Drobiz believes. - From January to October, we recorded an increase in sales of some drinks, but in November, sales of alcohol began to collapse. In retail, almost all categories fell by at least 5%. In the midst of a pandemic, people are not ready to weaken the body with their own hands and consume alcohol.

This year, a trend was set for the growth of wine consumption, Andrei Karpov, head of the Association of Retail Market Experts, told Izvestia. He suggests that people left without overseas vacations have lost the opportunity to bring home wine from other countries. Therefore, they compensate for this need at home. The expert is confident that the trend will continue next year: Russians will increase the consumption of domestic wine.

https://iz.ru/1104659/evgeniia-pertceva-meri-baduntc/gradus-kachestva-rossiiane-perekhodiat-na-vino-i-shampanskoe

Kiko wrote:Degree of quality: Russians are switching to wine and champagne
Sales of this alcohol increased, while vodka and brandy decreased slightly.
Evgeniya Pertseva
Mary Badunts
28 December 2020, 00:01

Russians are switching to the consumption of noble alcoholic beverages - wine and champagne. According to the results of the three quarters, their sales increased by 4-5%, according to the data of the Federal Agency for Alcohol Market Regulation, which Izvestia got acquainted with. Sales of spirits, rum, gin, whiskey and beer increased by 5-15% compared to the same period in 2019. At the same time, sales of vodka practically did not change, while sales of cognac decreased slightly. The change in the focus in the choice of alcohol was influenced by the active promotion of the products of the domestic wine industry, experts say.

The truth is in wine

Izvestia got acquainted with the official statistics of Rosalkogolregulirovanie (RAR) for the most popular categories of alcohol. It follows from it that the Russians began to switch to weaker alcoholic beverages. According to RAP, at the end of three quarters of 2020 compared to the same period in 2019, sales of champagne increased by 5%, to 10.8 million decaliters, wine - by 4%, to 41.2 million decaliters. The same trend was recorded in the beer category: its sales increased by 5%, to 514.9 million decaliters.

Vodka sales did not change and amounted to 54.3 million decaliters, while the demand for cognac fell by 1% to 8.3 million decaliters. Thus, in general, sales of alcoholic beverages over the three quarters did not change in relation to the same period last year and amounted to 158 million decaliters.

Shifting the focus from strong to weak alcohol is one of the points of state policy in the field of reducing excessive consumption of alcohol, President of the Union of Winegrowers and Winemakers Leonid Popovich told Izvestia. The new sales trend confirms that efforts have begun to pay off.

In recent years, producers and the state have tried to promote Russian drinks, including organizing various actions in retail chains, for example, "Days of Russian Wines". Moreover, Roskachestvo was actively engaged in the research of drinks. Therefore, people have more opportunities to get acquainted with Russian wine, this spurred sales, - Leonid Popovich is sure.

The growth in demand is due to the increased interest of citizens in wine, including domestic wine, he believes. The first law on viticulture and winemaking in the history of Russia was also aimed at reviving the domestic industry. It, as Izvestia wrote , was signed by President Vladimir Putin at the end of 2019. One of the main goals of the document is to improve the quality of the domestic drink. This is also due to the fact that now producers cannot call wine a drink made from "bulk" - a foreign wine material of low quality.

Russian companies today also pay great attention to the export of their products, which is usually liked by consumers. For example, on December 25 it became known that the Crimean "Massandra" resumes export supplies to Taiwan. 9 thousand bottles of fortified and dessert wine will be sent to this country, the acting Acting told Izvestia. CEO of "Massandra" Sergei Bannov.

- This year we produced and shipped 19.7 million bottles, while sold 19.1 million. This is a good result for our company, given that due to the pandemic, many market segments were closed: restaurants, bars, cafes, - he said. - In terms of exports, we will make an increase of 10-15%. This is commendable, because due to the coronavirus, many countries closed their borders and companies could not supply their products.

Gin tinctures
According to Rosalkogolregulirovanie, sales of alcoholic beverages with a strength above 25 degrees (for example, tinctures) also increased by 15%, up to 5.6 million decaliters, alcoholic beverages stronger than nine degrees (rum, whiskey, gin) - by 11%, up to 5.8 million decaliters.

These categories have been growing for several years, Igor Kosarev, President of the Union of Alcohol Producers, told Izvestia. Pandemic, stress and human fear have played a role in some of the overall rise in alcohol consumption, he suggested.

Legal alcohol sales this year have not changed compared to last year, as well as alcohol consumption per capita, Vadim Drobiz, head of the Center for Research on Federal and Regional Alcohol Markets, told Izvestia. And this despite the fact that there are factors that contribute to the use of alcoholic beverages: a pandemic, a crisis, a canceled vacation. At least 20 million people who traveled abroad twice a year stayed at home this year, the expert said.

- It is due to these citizens that we see an increase in sales in the category of alcoholic beverages, alcoholic drinks stronger than nine degrees, as well as wine and champagne, - Vadim Drobiz believes. - From January to October, we recorded an increase in sales of some drinks, but in November, sales of alcohol began to collapse. In retail, almost all categories fell by at least 5%. In the midst of a pandemic, people are not ready to weaken the body with their own hands and consume alcohol.

This year, a trend was set for the growth of wine consumption, Andrei Karpov, head of the Association of Retail Market Experts, told Izvestia. He suggests that people left without overseas vacations have lost the opportunity to bring home wine from other countries. Therefore, they compensate for this need at home. The expert is confident that the trend will continue next year: Russians will increase the consumption of domestic wine.

https://iz.ru/1104659/evgeniia-pertceva-meri-baduntc/gradus-kachestva-rossiiane-perekhodiat-na-vino-i-shampanskoe

interesting, last time i was in Russia (in Moscow) I was told that two adult men would not drink wine together, because that would mean it is a "romantic" meeting, so most Russian men drink wine only when together with a woman (and instead drink beer or vodka when meeting male friends).
Is it true?

For an Italian (or a French) this is quite strange...